OK, forget everything you know about affiliate marketing. The simple truth is that the old rules no longer apply. If you play by the old rules, you will lose this game.

The big lie

You’ve probably heard how easy it is to start an affiliate business. Well, that’s true . . . to a point It’s far easier that developing, selling and supporting your own product. But starting your own business is really hard, so it’s all relative.

The cold hard truth

The worst part is that the information you’ve received is all wrong. You’ve been told to find quality products. Next to look for easy keywords to target. Then buy some keyword ads that send traffic to the product. And just enjoy the commissions. But it doesn’t work.

Don’t bother with keywords

This method worked a couple years ago. But keywords are too expensive now. Adapt and change…

A better way

Do CPA marketing instead of product promotion

CPA stands for Cost Per Action. It’s so much easier than promoting products. Because your visitor doesn’t have to buy anything. You get paid when they take an “action”. Entering their email into a form, for example. And it’s much easier to get them to do that.

Utilize demographics data

You’re not even going to use keywords (explained below.) Invest your research time into demographics. Once you’ve picked the CPA offer to promote. Then go to a site like Quantcast.com. And find your target demographic.

Use image ads

So you know what your promoting and you know who will be interested. Display networks allow you to target demographics with your ads. Using image ads. No keywords required. And you’ll save a fortune. Display networks charge a fraction for image ad clicks vs. keyword ads.

Summary

This is a great way to make money fast. Because getting started in CPA is free. Image ads are cheap. Display networks let you do demographics targeting. And your commission is much easier to earn.